Notes:In Madhya Pradesh, the elephants at the Kanha National Park (KNP) are on a week-long picnic. This picnic, which is arranged every year, includes massaging for the elephants and a delicious menu. The purpose of a picnic is to provide family time to Jumbo. The Kanha National Park management has been organizing such picnic for the service of more than a dozen elephants for the past 7-8 years. Picnic includes bathing of elephants, massaging as well as special health tests and treatments. Elephants are given their favourite food like mango, sugarcane, pineapple, banana, coconut and Jaggery. During this period, all the elephants of National Park are residing in one place as a bigger family. Picnic is also helpful in increasing the population of elephants.

2. Which country’s U-20 football team has won the 2018 Cotif Cup football tournament ?

Notes:The 22nd edition of ‘Parampara series – National Festival of Music and Dance’ festival will be held at Kamani Auditorim in New Delhi from August 10, 2018. The purpose of the festival is to offer a platform to young talents trying to make their foothold in the world of art and culture. It is organised by Natya Tarangini led by Padma Bhushan awardee Kuchipudi couple Raja and Radha Reddy. The 3-day event will also see performances by veteran classical dance couple ‘The Dhananjayans’ (Shanta and Vannadil Pudiyaveettil Dhananjayan) and Kathak exponent Uma Dogra. The festival has featured artistes like Grammy winning instrumentalist Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Carnatic vocalist Abhishek Raghuram, Khyal singers Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra are among the many eminent artistes.

4. The world’s first-ever thermal battery plant has been inaugurated in which Indian state?

Notes:On August 6, the world’s first-ever facility to create thermal batteries has been inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh by the state’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati. The thermal battery plant, which is manufactured by the Bharat Energy Storage Technology Private Limited (BEST), is expected to start commercial operations by May 2019. The technology will help in mitigating carbon emissions and is best suited for grid balancing and stabilisations. It will also be used to store energy for telecommunication, commercial establishments, electric vehicles and highway charging stations. It can also be effectively used in remote locations, such as hilly terrains and islands. The BEST also aims to set up a Greenfield Project in India, at an estimated cost of Rs 660 crores, through which nearly 3000 jobs are expected to be created within three years’ time. It must be noted that the thermal battery technology was patented in India by Dr Patrick Glynn in 2016.

5. The Parliament of India has passed which Constitutional Amendment Bill to grant constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC)?

Notes:The Parliament of India has passed the 123rd Constitutional Amendment Bill, which grants constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). The bill was passed after the House repealed the NCBC Act, 1993. It will contribute to the empowerment of the OBC communities across India. The bill states that the President may specify the socially and educationally backward classes in the various states and union territories. He may do this in consultation with the Governor of the concerned state. It will give the institution all powers to safeguard the rights of the socially and educationally backward classes and fulfils a long pending commitment of the central govt to the OBCs. The Clause-3 (5) of the Bill gives the proposed Commission the power to inquire into complaints of deprivation of rights and safeguards. Clause 3 (8) gives it the powers of a civil court trying a suit and allows it to summon anyone, require documents to be produced and receive evidence on affidavit.

6. NITI Aayog’s International Conference on “Sustainable Growth through Material Recycling: Policy Prescriptions” was held in which city?

Notes:NITI Aayog’s International Conference on “Sustainable Growth through Material Recycling: Policy Prescriptions”was held at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi on August 6, 2018. It was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways & Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari. The day long conference brought together a host of experts for identifying policy prescriptions for the development and growth of material recycling in India towards creating more jobs, reduce dependence on exports, protect the environment and take steps towards adopting circular economy concepts.

7. Which country is hosting the communication exercise “Pacific Endeavor-2018 (PE-18)” under the Multinational Communications Interoperability Program (MCIP)?

Notes:The communication exercise “Pacific Endeavor-2018 (PE-18)” under the Multinational Communications Interoperability Program (MCIP) has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on August 6, 2018. The basic objective of 12 day exercise is to develop common communications operating procedures to enable military forces in the Asia Pacific region to collectively work in the wake of disaster. Around 270 personnel from 20 Asia-Pacific Countries are participating in the exercise, which is jointly organised by the Nepali Army and United States Pacific Command (USPC). The Pacific Endeavor began in 2005 and it focuses on establishing rapid and effective inter-operable communication systems to jointly act in disaster relief operations.

8. Which country ‘s women team has clinched gold in the Blitz event at the Asian Nations Chess Cup 2018?

Notes:The Indian women chess team has clinched the gold in the Blitz event at the Asian Nations Chess Cup 2018 at Hamadan, Iran on August 3. It’s India’s first gold-medal finish at the event since 2014. The Indian team comprising Harika Dronavalli, Eesha Karavade, Padmini Rout, Vaishali R and Aakanksha Haga left the teams from Vietnam and China behind to clinch gold. Apart from this, they also bagged a silver and a bronze in the Rapid and Classical categories, respectively. India (1st) finished with 21.5 points, Vietnam (2nd) settled for silver with 18.5 and China (3rd) bagged bronze with 17.5.

9. The Union Government has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into issues related to the proposed mega free trade agreement Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The GoM will be headed by whom?

Notes:The Union government has constituted a 4-member Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu, to look into issues related to the proposed mega free trade agreement Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The GoM will deliberate upon the issues being raised by the industry as well as government departments. There is concern across ministries that joining the accord could severely dent local manufacturing and jobs and that China’s $60-billion trade surplus with India will swell even further as it floods the market with cheap goods at zero tariff. Apart from Prabhu, the panel comprises interim finance minister Piyush Goyal, defence minister (former commerce minister) Nirmala Sitharaman and housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The RCEP bloc consists of 10 ASEAN group members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six FTA partners — India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The first meeting of this group is expected to be held on 10 August.

10. Which renowned personality was the author of the Tamil historical novel “Thenpandi Singam”?

Notes:Muthuvel Karunanidhi (94), the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK patriarch, was the author of the Tamil historical novel “Thenpandi Singam”. The novel was based on a legendary story of Valukku Veli, a Petty chief ruling Paganeri Nadu. Karunanidhi, who passed away in Chennai on 7th August 2018, became the chief minister in 1971, 1989, 1996 and 2006. He was a legislator for six decades since 1957, when he won for the first time from Kulithalai constituency, till 2016, when he emerged victorious from Tiruvarur as a 92-year-old, barring the period between 1986 and 1989. Apart from politics, Karunanidhi penned screenplays and dialogues for over 50 movies. He also wrote the stories of some of them like Marudanattu Ilavarasi (1950) Mandiri Kumari (1950), Tirumbipar (1953) and Arasilangkumari (1961).

Comments

tavashya kumar

Mahantesh g

Good morning sir .
Pls use (spell) numbers and years, dates in English only
Because we are from Karnataka don’t know only hindi numbers much more
So pls use English where dates, numbers and digit comes

PANDIT VENKATESH

Ayush

Sir please see ,
Copied from somewhere
India’s under-20 team won over Argentina under-20 in the final group stage match of the COTIF Cup held in Valencia’s Els Arcs Stadium. India was playing in the tournament for the first time